M4 Sherman
The M4 Medium Tank 'or "'Sherman" is a medium Allied tank that was produced by the United States during World War II.http://militaryhistory.about.com/od/vehiclesarmor/p/M4Sherman.htm The first M4 Tank, the M4A1 had an armament consisting of a 75mm gun, two .30 MGs mounte coaxially and in the bow, and a .50 Browning M2 on top of the turret. It also was about 19 feet long and weighed about 30 tons. The M4 Sherman was widely used by the the Allies and some that were captured were even used by the Axis. It utilized a crew of five and had a 350 hp Continental R-975 engine that was capable of propelling the Sherman at speeds of up to 39 km/h. Among the crew was the gunner, the commander, and the driver.http://www.militaryfactory.com/armor/detail.asp?armor_id=40 The Sherman also had a vertical volute suspension system and 5 speed forward, 1 speed reverse transmission. M4A2-M4A6 The M4A2-M4A6 tanks all had varied differences that included different engines or armor thickness. Others had different hulls as well as different turrets. Despite all the ]]differences, all M4s had a mount on top of the turret for a .50 Brownig M2. The M4A2 was not used much by the US Military and it was also sent to the Eastern Front to assist Soviet forces.http://www.wwiivehicles.com/usa/tanks-medium/m4a2.asp The M4A3 however was widely used and was used extensively by the United States Military. It had a M1 76mm main gun and 5 man crew. The M4A3 Sherman also had a subvariant called the M3A3E2 Sherman or Jumbo which had thicker armor, a revised turret, and a welded hull. The M4A4 Sherman included a Chrysler A-57 engine and it ran on gasoline and its armor had a thickness of about 1 to 2 inches. The weight was around 34 tons and it had a length of about 19 feet. The M4A5 was actually a Canadian tank and there was only a small number of M4A6 tanks built and they weren't used in combat. Sherman Firefly and other variants The Sherman VC Firefly was a British modification of the Sherman and one of its rather impressive features was a 76mm, 17pdr, anti-tank gun. It also had a redesigned recoil system and there were three variants of the Sherman Firefly that first appeared in 1944. The first one was the Sherman I which was based on a normal M4 Sherman chasis, the second was the Sherman I Hybrid which was also based on the M4, but it was made with welded and cast parts, and the third variant was the Sherman V which was based on the M4A4 Sherman. Like all of the other Sherman variants the Firefly had a crew of 5. The armament was a the 76mm main gun and a Browning M1919A4 MG. The Firefly was the only allied tank that could contend with German Tiger tanks at distance. The M4 Sherman also had other variants that were based on it and served different purposes. Some of these included the M7 "Priest", the M4A3 Sherman Jumbo, the M10 Tank Destroyer which is based on a M4A2 chasis, the M32 Tank Recovery Vehicle, the Sherman DD which was notably used at the D-Day Landings; it had propellers in the back so it could go through water, the T1E3 Mine Exploder, and the M3A3R3 Sherman which was a flame tank. The M4A1 Sherman itself even had a Canadian variant that was the Grizzly I Cruiser Tank. Although, it had a number of modifications including increased armor protection. History The M4 Sherman tank was used throughout WWII on almost every front. The T-34 was the only tank that beat the M4 Sherman's production numbers. The M4 was used in crucial battles such as El Alimein and Normandy. Unfortunately for Sherman crews, German anti-tank crews and German heavy tanks such as the Tiger proved to be a very dangerous threat. The M4 Sherman was also used in the Pacific Theater where it fought against Japanese tanks such as the Type 97 Chi-Ha. In this area of operations, the Shermans were better than the Chi-Ha because the Sherman's armor was thicker than the Chi-Ha, and the M4 Sherman also had better firepower. A large number of M4s and other types of Shermans were given to other Allied Nations through the Lend Lease Program.http://ww2total.com/WW2/Weapons/Vehicles/Tanks/US/Sherman/-tank/M4-Sherman.htm References Category:US Vehicles Category:Tanks Category:British Vehicles